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Iraq vows "maximum force" as bombs kill 19

Posted on: Sunday, 21 May 2006, 08:55 CDT

By Lutfi Abu Oun and Ibon Villelabeitia

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki vowed to use "maximum force against terrorism" on Sunday, as bombs killed at least 19 people in Baghdad during the first meeting of his national unity cabinet.

In a fresh reminder of the huge task Maliki faces in reining in bloodshed that has pushed Iraq to the brink of sectarian civil war, blasts hit Baghdad, including one suicide bomber who killed at least 13 people and wounded 18 in a crowded restaurant popular with police. Police and civilians were among the dead.

A day after Maliki formed a cabinet of Shi'ites, minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds to ease violence and consolidate a U.S.- piloted transition to democracy, President Bush on Sunday said the new government marked a "new day for the millions of Iraqis who want to live in freedom."

Bush, whose approval ratings have fallen to near lows partly on growing public discontent over a war he launched three years ago to remove Saddam Hussein, said he had called Maliki and other Iraqi leaders to congratulate them.

Briefing reporters after the cabinet met in Baghdad, Maliki, a tough-talking Shi'ite Islamist, said his government would hold out the offer of dialogue to insurgents who lay down weapons.

He vowed to reimpose the state's monopoly on the armed forces, cracking down on militias.

"We will use maximum force against terrorism, but we also need a national initiative," he said in reference to previous calls for "national reconciliation" among all Iraqis.

"Militias, death squads, terrorism, killings and assassinations are not normal and we should put an end to the militias."

As the cabinet met for the first time since Saturday's swearing-in in parliament, a car bomb killed three people and wounded 15 in Baghdad's western mainly Shi'ite Shula district.

Earlier, a roadside bomb on the eastern bank of the Tigris killed three people and wounded 24 in a blast apparently targeting Iraqi police in a busy commercial street.

THOUSANDS FLEE HOMES

Besides dealing with violence that has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and dumps hundreds of bodies in Baghdad alone every month, Maliki's strongman approach to Iraq's woes has raised hopes in Washington that an improvement in security could pave the way for a withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Reading out a government program to parliament as U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad looked on, Maliki said he will work to complete rebuilding Iraq's U.S.-trained armed forces so that foreign troops could leave within an "objective timetable."

Disputes over who would lead the key interior and defense ministries -- in charge of police and the army -- meant those two sensitive posts would be left vacant for now. Maliki said he hoped to fill the posts in two to three days.

Khalilzad, a key power broker behind the scenes, said the formation of the government, with crucial involvement from Saddam's once dominant fellow Sunnis, brought 130,000 American troops suffering almost daily casualties closer to going home.

"I believe that, with the political changes taking place -- the emphasis on unity and reconciliation, with effective ministers ... -- that conditions are likely to move in the right direction and that would allow adjustment in term of the size, composition and mission of our forces," he said.

"We are going to be moving in the direction of downsizing our forces. But that is always dependent on the conditions."

THORNY ISSUES AHEAD

Despite Maliki's efforts to forge consensus among Iraq's rival communities, partisan wrangling over jobs and differences over the role of Islam, the sharing of Iraq's natural resources and the future layout of the Iraqi state highlight the problems he will face in holding his colleagues to a common policy.

Chief among the many thorny issues that could tear apart Maliki's national government is reviewing a constitution that Sunnis say gives Shi'ites and Kurds too much control over Iraq's vast oil resources and eventually will split the country.

Under a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at luring Sunnis away from the insurgency and into the political process, parliament must form a committee which will have four months to come up with recommendations on how to amend the charter.

Boding ill for hopes to win over the disaffected Sunni minority, about a dozen Sunni legislators walked out of parliament on Saturday before Maliki was sworn in. Most Sunni leaders, including Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi and Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zobaie held firm, however.

Reflecting widespread wariness among Sunnis for the political process, Jamal al-Falluja, a student in the insurgent stronghold of Falluja said: "This is not a national unity government. Sectarianism and personal interest have prevailed."

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl and Mariam Karouny in Baghdad and Tabassum Zakaria in Washington)

Source: REUTERS

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